John Barry's "Beer of the Week"

[JohnBarry]

Welcome Folks, as opposed to Sac's Thread, not trying to steal his thunder, I am doing my beer of the week. I will be featuring a more thrifty based beer, but not short on good old American Beer Taste and Tradition. Think of yourself as poor college student, that might help!

 

Today's Beer:

 

 

A RED, WHITE AND BLUE beer with a taste as big as America! This is the caddy of Cheap beers, and as we speak, the come back for PBR is in full effect. Go to Boston, it's on tap in almost every Bar! It's working it's way down the East Coast and inland towards the Mid West.

 

Pabst Blue Ribbon is a brand of beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the current name came from the blue ribbons that were tied around the bottle neck, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916. It is often referred to as PBR.

 

Whether the brand actually won an award in 1893 is unclear. Some contemporaneous accounts indicate that many vendors were frustrated by the fair's refusal to award such prizes. One account says that the only prizes awarded by the executive committee were bronze medals,in recognition of "some independent and essential excellence in the article displayed," rather "than merely to indicate the relative merits of competing exhibits."[2]

 

Sales of Pabst peaked in 1977, when they reached 18 million barrels[3]; by 2001, the brand's sales were below a million barrels, 90% less than the peak.[4]

 

Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association, published the following tasting notes for Pabst Blue Ribbon in 2008: "A contrasting counterpoint of sharp texture and flowing sweetness is evident at the first sip of this historic brew and is also evident when after consumption, one feels really drunk. A slowly increasing hoppiness adds to the interplay of ingredients, while the texture smooths out by mid-bottle. The clear, pale-gold body is light and fizzy. Medium-bodied Blue Ribbon finishes with a dusting of malts and hops. A satisfying American classic and a Gold Medal winner at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival.

 

The beer experienced a sales revival in the early 2000s after a two decade-long slump, largely due to its increasing popularity among the 20-something demographic in cities such as Portland, Oregon and New York City.[4][6] As a result, it has become popularly associated with the contemporary hipster counterculture.[7][8] A possible contributing factor to the resurgence of Pabst Blue Ribbon is the lasting popularity (particularly among hipsters) of the cult film Blue Velvet, in which antagonist Frank Booth profanely declares its superiority over rival beer Heineken, in which he shouts out "Heineken! **** that s***! Pabst Blue Ribbon!".[original research?][under discussion][9] Analysts have suggested that these new, young consumers have fueled PBR's considerable rise in sales over the course of the last decade.[10][11][12] Although the Pabst website features user-submitted photography, much of which features twenty-something Pabst drinkers dressed in alternative fashions,[13] the company has opted not to fully embrace the countercultural label in its marketing, fearing that it could jeopardize the very "authenticity" that made the brand popular.[4][10][14] Pabst instead targets its desired market as an authentic American beer through product placement in films such as Gran Torino[citation needed], as well as targeting its niche through the sponsorship of indie music concerts, local businesses, post-collegiate sports teams,[15] dive bars and radio programming like National Public Radio's All Things Considered

[GolfSpy Dave]

At first I was like "Why you bite'n my style?" And then I was like cool more beer!

That cheap beer map made me miss college...

[Moecat]

It's only a little after 7 am here, and seeing this topic already makes me wanna be like Homer...

[GolfSpy Dave]

Head to Toronado Moecat

Get a sausage next door with your AM Ale

 

http://www.toronado.com/

[JohnBarry]

In today economy, always nice to enjoy your beer and save a few bucks at the same time!

[MmmmmmBuddy]

I just can't do it. Sorry. College was a LONG time ago. I will keep checking back, but I will not hold out much hope....

[Moecat]

Head to Toronado Moecat

Get a sausage next door with your AM Ale

 

http://www.toronado.com/

 

Noc Noc was more my style when living in the city

 

http://nocnocs.com/

 

Need to have the good music to complement the ambience!

[GolfSpy Dave]

Noc Noc was more my style when living in the city

 

http://nocnocs.com/

 

Need to have the good music to complement the ambience!

Big Daddy IPA and Guinness on tap, I approve.

The wall of taps at Toronado is just staggering though

[Matt Saternus]

I just can't do it. Sorry. College was a LONG time ago. I will keep checking back, but I will not hold out much hope....

 

I'm with you Nic. I'm not drinking for quantity anymore.

 

My brother is funny, he drinks some really great beer, but he also has a fridge full of PBR at all times.

 

Different strokes, man, different strokes.

[JohnBarry]

That's because PBR is actually very good tasting beer! that's my point!

[MmmmmmBuddy]

That's because PBR is actually very good tasting beer! that's my point!

OK John, I will try to find a PBR and give it a go. If I spew all over the place because the flavor is less than what I am expecting, is there any recourse??

[Tony Covey MGS]

When choosing a beer, there's a simple set of rules I live by. Chief among them is never drink anything that comes in a 30 pack.

[Matt Saternus]

When choosing a beer, there's a simple set of rules I live by. Chief among them is never drink anything that comes in a 30 pack.

 

HAHAHAA.

 

Alright John, I'm going to be open minded here and pick up a sixer. Worse comes to worse, I'll serve it to guests...that I don't like.

[MmmmmmBuddy]

You could always make a grass tonic out of it. That is what the wife does with my good beer. Drives me nuts.

 

I am always on the lookout for gardening tips and cheats because, well, I'm awful at gardening. My local news station airs this one every year, and it has always worked wonders for my lawn. And as I live in the arrid climate of Colorado, it's even more useful these days.

 

The recipe came from Tim Heffron, a former groundskeeper at a golf course. All you need are five common household ingredients and a 10-gallon hose-end sprayer. This recipe can be modified slightly for other less dry climates, but for areas like Colorado it works wonders. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper and more effective than the store-bought mixes.

 

You will need:

 

* One full can of regular pop (any kind-no diet soda)

* One full can of beer (no light beer) 12oz

* 1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)

* 1/2 Cup of household ammonia

* 1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)

 

Directions:

 

* Pour into 10-gallon hose-end sprayer (other sizes will work too)

* In high heat, apply every three weeks

[JohnBarry]

Make sure to try it in the Bottle please.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Make sure to try it in the Bottle please.

Excellent on tap. Local college bar had 50¢ PBR draft nights back in the day...

[GolfSpy Dave]

You could always make a grass tonic out of it. That is what the wife does with my good beer. Drives me nuts.

 

I am always on the lookout for gardening tips and cheats because, well, I'm awful at gardening. My local news station airs this one every year, and it has always worked wonders for my lawn. And as I live in the arrid climate of Colorado, it's even more useful these days.

 

The recipe came from Tim Heffron, a former groundskeeper at a golf course. All you need are five common household ingredients and a 10-gallon hose-end sprayer. This recipe can be modified slightly for other less dry climates, but for areas like Colorado it works wonders. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper and more effective than the store-bought mixes.

 

You will need:

 

* One full can of regular pop (any kind-no diet soda)

* One full can of beer (no light beer) 12oz

* 1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)

* 1/2 Cup of household ammonia

* 1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)

 

Directions:

 

* Pour into 10-gallon hose-end sprayer (other sizes will work too)

* In high heat, apply every three weeks

 

So reading the whole post is helpful..

I thought initially your wife was putting grass in your beer. And in Oregon that has lots of meanings.

[mudfish]

I've never been a fan of PBR, but this is definately the thread I will spend more time in between the two beer threads...

 

Old reliable...

 

[GolfSpy Dave]

I've never been a fan of PBR, but this is definately the thread I will spend more time in between the two beer threads...

 

 

What if I review Keystone Light Dry Ice next week?

[mudfish]

 

What if I review Keystone Light Dry Ice next week?

 

Oh, I'll read your thread too (It is beer after all), but I'm not a fan of dark/strong beers, and I'm a cheapass so I buy what I'm familiar with rather than trying new things, because I hate buying beer and finding out I don't like is and having the rest go to waste...

 

And Keystone is a brand on my Do Not Buy list... that's all my brother in law drinks, and I can't stand it... tastes like water to me...

[Matt Saternus]

Bottles over tap and cans or just over cans? I want to give PBR the best chance to succeed here, John.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Tap, bottle, can IMHO

[Matt Saternus]

Is that across the board, or just PBR?

 

I know this flies in the face of common beer wisdom, but I like bottles better than tap for just about everything. Maybe I just have a bad track record, but I've gotten very inconsistent results when getting things on tap. With bottles, I always get what I'm expecting.

[GolfSpy Dave]

My only variation is Guinness. Then it is tap, can, bottle. Even the newer bottles with the gas cartridge just don't quite do it...

[Matt Saternus]

Here's more sacrilege from me: I don't "get" Guinness. It's fine, but I think there are many better beers, and it's usually more expensive than anything else at the bar.

[mudfish]

Is that across the board, or just PBR?

 

I know this flies in the face of common beer wisdom, but I like bottles better than tap for just about everything. Maybe I just have a bad track record, but I've gotten very inconsistent results when getting things on tap. With bottles, I always get what I'm expecting.

 

 

I'm the same way... I prefer bottle to tap... The only time I prefer cans is on the course...

[Matt Saternus]

I'm the same way... I prefer bottle to tap... The only time I prefer cans is on the course...

 

Nice, glad to see someone else breaking with the norm.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know that I've ever had a beer out of a can. Weird...

[JohnBarry]

I have always preferred Bottle over Tap, because Tap you get a decent amount of air bubbles which help induce a hang over. Taste wise, I find them both to be the same.

 

Anyone try PBR this weekend?

[JohnBarry]

Welcome to the second week of the best cheap beers very little money can buy. I hope everyone last week had a chance to grab an ice cold PBR and enjoy one of the Kings of Cheap Beer. American made and Brewed!

 

Today, keeping with the roughly no more than a 1.00 a beer theme, I welcome you to try:

 

Pours an amber color with less than an inch of white head that fades quickly. Hardly any lacing. It is a nice color but the lack of head and lacing take away from the score.

 

The aroma is subtle, with faint hints of caramel, pretzels/crackers, with some straw/hay.

 

Not much in the flavor department. Ill just say malty.

 

The mouthfeel is thin with too much carbonation.

 

Refreshing brew with no bad flavors. I could drink several of these. This would make a good "session beer."

 

Serving type: bottle

 

The label says, "Bock beer was traditionally brewed in Germany to celebrate the arrival of spring. Shiner Bock combines its old-world, Bavarian heritage with the ingenuity of American handcraft brewing for a smooth, rich, always satisfying taste." I'm not sure about that interpretation of bock history. And as far as "rich," well I really can't go along with that either. This is, however, a very approachable beer. It has many devoted fans and as one of the few American brews labeled bock, I wanted to try it for myself.

 

 

FRESH BREWED IN TEXAS...USA

[Moecat]

John, as I did with Sactown, I've merged your beer of the week topics. You'll only need one. Thanks!